KTLA

COVID-19 surge is slowing in California — but don’t expect repeat of reopening fever

There are growing glimmers of hope that California’s surge in coronavirus cases could be peaking — but don’t expect the pandemic-shattered economy to share much of this progress in the short term.

A Los Angeles Times analysis found that California has now experienced its first weekly reduction in new confirmed coronavirus cases for the first time in 12 weeks. For the seven-day period that ended Sunday, California reported 59,697 new coronavirus cases, a drop of 9% from the previous week of 65,634 cases, which was a pandemic record.

If the trends continue, it would mark a turning point after weeks of record hospitalizations that began in mid-June, the result of California starting to rapidly reopen the economy in May.

Allowing many businesses to reopen their doors in May and June seemed like a moment of triumph, with California celebrating a seeming miracle in avoiding the huge death tolls of hotspots like New York and New Jersey.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

A bar graph from the Los Angeles Times show indicate the number of coronavirus cases in California from March to July 2020.